Sun sues NLV court to open records

Monday, March 29, 2004 | 11:39 a.m.

The Las Vegas Sun filed suit in District Court today to compel North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Stephen Dahl to release court documents in the case of a woman charged with arson and the attempted murder of her children.

The suit stems from Dahl's refusal to release a North Las Vegas Police report and other court records in the case of Jennifer Pence, also known as Jennifer Mendoza, to a Sun reporter following a Dec. 2, 2003, fire at the woman's home.

Mendoza, 32, is accused of burning her apartment in the 2100 block of Las Vegas Boulevard North near Bruce Street while her three children were inside. All four were treated for smoke inhalation at a local hospital and survived.

The Sun's suit notes that the facts surrounding the alleged events and the subsequent arrest of Mendoza are newsworthy and their circulation promotes meaningful public discussion.

"It is standard journalistic practice in Clark County ... to obtain and review arrest reports as part of the journalist's due diligence," the suit says.

Sun attorney Dominic Gentile is seeking to obtain the arrest report and for the Sun to gain access to court records or, instead, get a court ruling forcing Dahl to hold a hearing and consider the issues raised in the Sun's suit.

"Dahl interprets the law differently than the judges in other local jurisdictions," a supervisor in Dahl's office told Sun reporter Jen Lawson, according to the suit.

Dahl sent an order denying Lawson's request for the arrest report, the suit says.

"Courts are meant to be open to the public -- it's the only way we can tell if judges are doing their job right," Gentile said. "Sealing documents and preventing the public from having access to court proceedings runs afoul of the First Amendment."

Kent Lauer, executive director of the Nevada Press Association, said there is "strong case law" that prohibits judges from routinely denying such records.

"These are public documents," said Lauer, whose organization addresses First Amendment issues. "A judge cannot routinely seal such records. At the very least he must hear arguments on why the records should be open or kept confidential. He must find overwhelming justification for confidentiality."

Gentile, citing case law, noted that the Nevada Supreme Court has determined "police investigative reports must be made available to the public" unless there are circumstances such as protecting investigation techniques, the risk of denying someone a fair trial or potential jeopardy to police officers.

"Judge Dahl merely asserted by reference to his prior written decision in (an) unrelated criminal case that the release of the criminal reports could have a negative impact on defendant's right to a fair trial," Gentile wrote.

"This is simply not sufficient to prohibit the dissemination of the records. ... The court must undertake a balancing test and give the Las Vegas Sun an opportunity to be heard and establish that the general policy is in favor of open government."

Mendoza remains in jail on one count of first-degree arson and three counts of attempted murder.